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Level 5 rises to top of Baltimore ALMS field: Win is first ALMS overall win for an LMP2 machine since 2008

August 31, 2012

1 of 12The start of the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT on the streets of Baltimore on Saturday.

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2 of 12A crash caused a bottleneck in Baltimore during the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT.

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3 of 12Christophe Bouchut led Level 5 to the win at Baltimore.

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4 of 12Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler celebrate their win in the GT class.

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5 of 12Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner piloted their Corvette to second place in GT.

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6 of 12Alex Popow and Ryan Dalziel finished on top of the LMPC class.

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7 of 12The field flies into the first turn at Baltimore.

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8 of 12Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut lead the pack around the bend at Baltimore.

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9 of 12Tommy Kendall and Marc Goossens drove the Viper GTSR to 18th place overall.

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10 of 12Michael Marsal and Eric Lux won the LMP1 class.

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11 of 12Level 5 Motorsports celebrates the overall win on the streets of Baltimore.

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12 of 12GT class winners Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers.

Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Level 5 has a new number, and it's No. 1. That signifies the overall winner in an American Le Mans Series race as Christophe Bouchut drove the No. 055 HPD ARX-03b first across the finish line Saturday in the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge, giving the team its first overall victory in the sport.

The overall win also was the first for an LMP2 machine since 2008.

Level 5 also grabbed the second finishing position, an unthinkable accomplishment. But there were team orders involved.

Bouchut was handed the lead on lap 57 (of 67) in a bid to help the No. 055 with its tight championship battle. Luis Diaz gave up the lead with 18 minutes left; Bouchut, who ran the quickest lap, did the rest.

The team's rival, Conquest Endurance, finished 26th, 11 laps off the pace. At one point, David Heinemeier passed Scott Tucker.

The race, the second for ALMS on this bumpy street circuit, had a series of misadventures with all three LMP1 cars having troubles.

Michael Marsal's Dyson Racing car had a pit issue before the race, with a fan setting off the car's fire extinguisher. Marsal said the man was arrested, and he was still thinking about it at the green flag.

Marsal missed his braking point and hit the tire barrier, creating a pileup in the corner.

“A mistake on my part,” he said.

The team kept battling despite a pit penalty, finishing 13th. It was enough for the first class victory for the drivers.

Guy Smith's Dyson No. 16 crashed on the final lap and finished 23rd after having right front suspension failure. The overall pole winner, Muscle Milk's Lucas Luhr leading with Klaus Graf finishing, settled for the 24th spot, five laps off the pace with gearbox issues.

The sprint to the finish was outstanding in GT, with seven cars battling. Bryan Sellers of Team Falken Tire took the victory over points leader Oliver Gavin of Corvette Racing. The Corvette had won the class pole.

In the waning laps, Marc Goossens and Guy Cosmo had contact that continued on for the rest of the lap. Goossens was penalized for avoidable contact. Meanwhile, spectators were warned that dangerous weather was approaching.

Two races are left in the season, beginning Sept. 15 at Virginia International Raceway. The season ends Oct. 20 with Petite LeMans.